My view of the cow parade

Valentine Greetings

I have some Valentines for my family and awards to share with my blogging friends today.

Everyone in my family lives further apart now so I thank wp for this blog to send virtual roses. I had fun yesterday photographing bouquets at the flower market.

For my beautiful mother an hour away who has always been stunning in red…red roses.

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For my sister on the East coast with the reddish brown hair…peach colored roses.

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For CA daughter from TX with the blond, blond hair…yellow roses from TX.

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For Dallas daughter…still a bride…white roses.

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Every day is Valentines Day when we look at this picture of Papa who makes everything fun…with grandson!

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And you never know when a day can come in the form of a virtual hug or virtual nod in our blogging community. bridgesburning, Munchow and the Island Traveler have nominated me since the New Year for The Genuine Blogger Award, the Liebster, The Hug Award and the Versatile Blogger Award. Oh my! I am honored. I assured them I would reciprocate by Valentine’s.

I thank Chris because she posts so frequently. She is so dedicated. I believe she was a member of the Post a Day last year. I enjoy reading her musings and know she used to live closer to me at a point in her life. An explanation of the Liebster and the Genuine Blogger Award can be found here.

I thank the Island Traveler because although he is younger than I am, he reminds me of my dad (wink) at age 40. I love reading about his journey here in the states at his age. I remember going back to visit Mexico for Christmas and my dad’s 40th birthday over New Years. I remember how excited he was to return for a visit. Just recently, we learned IT will be going home to the Philippines for a visit. I can imagine his excitement and I can relate. A virtual hug back and I wish him a wonderful journey. An explanation of this award and the rules that go with it can be found here.

I thank munchow as he is mainly a photographer. How patient he is with my smart phone photographs that yes,…I am guilty…make their way into my posts. I thank him for understanding the message in my posts. The rules to the Versatile Blogger award can be found here.

I am required to list other blogs that I believe are wonderful, that deserve these awards and also to share some items about myself, that you don’t already know. I encourage you to visit these sites. You will be enriched for visiting. So…first the blogs, listed in no certain order, and of course, there are many more that I love, but I know some of them have been nominated recently, and I wish I could list more. I believe the following blogs encompass the ideals of these awards. I know some of you have already received one, and I ask you to accept one that isn’t duplicated. And if you don’t partake in awards, I do understand, I really do.

Dianna at These Days of Mine has such a special touch in staying grounded, creating community, focusing on the beauty around us, and acknowledging those who came before us. Her photographs are beautiful, Natural, whimsical, spontaneous, curious and playful. She has nominated me several times for these fun awards that come our way. And, I take a special pleasure in being able to give her an award that doesn’t originate from her.

Kathy at pocketperspectives, thank you for your window transparencies. You know how they warm me.

Linda at The Task at Hand. To read Linda’s posts is to know what a disciplined and dedicated writer she is. She follows the cardinal rule of writing, “Write what you know about.” She is the genuine article. I am honored by her replies to my comments and that she comes to visit this site. If blogging is recognized as a genre of literature, she certainly contributes to this genre for her craftsmanship and knowledge of literature, the arts and history.

Rosie at dearrosie fascinates me with her travel experiences and ability to relate with all kinds of acquaintances through her job at a museum. How often I shake my head in agreement as she shares with us her observations or I learn something new from her. Museums are among my favorite places to be and visit and I love being a virtual fly on the wall seeing what she observes.

Amy at souldipper shares her own authentic, life truths and I am honored she visits and comments. When Amy visits I feel our world becomes more familiar as she shares what she knows to be true, genuine and authentic. As she put it so aptly in a former post “My Roots Are Showing”, she knows herself well.

Carla at randombraincells.wordpress.com/ hails from Alabama. She is a very talented writer and keeps perspective by making everything she writes real and finding the humor in it. It’s always a delight to exchange a comment with her.

I am going to forego writing 7 things about myself because as I wrote this, I think you can find seven things you may not have already known about me as I give Valentines to my family and awards to my blogging friends.

Beautiful photos of the roses! You so truly deserve the wonderful awards. Wish I could send virtual roses back to you since roses should come along with lovely recognition. Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, Georgette!!

Thank you, Patti. I took these at the flower market of our grocery store yesterday. I asked permission and they didn’t have any problem with my taking pictures. Rick was surprised when they appeared on my computer screen. “Where did those come from?” he asked.

Georgette, the rose photos are just beautiful…and what a good idea to take those and to send virtual flowers to special people in your life…great idea! And thank you too for the kind words and blog awards…a very special valentines’ treat…thank you so much…. kathy

Happy Valentine’s Day my friend…those flowers are so beautiful with loving thoughts to go with each one of them . You family is so lucky to have you, a generous, thoughtful and loving person. Congratulations for the awards..and thank you for the mention. Wishing you of the love today and everyday.

“he reminds me of my dad (wink) at age 40.” I almost drop a tear when I read this. Like your dad, home will always be where we felt the love and affection of our parents and siblings, home is where you first realized how beautiful the world is. Home is where you had the fondest memories that gives you strength when life tests you. No comforts of America or any rich country can feel that void. I share the passion of your dad and why he is so happy revisiting the home he used to know. God bless you my friend. It’s an honor and a joy to come to know you through your wonderful blog….My regards to your family, specially your dad.

Perhaps in God’s design, he made me remember that 40th date so in a distant future, I could share it with another such as him. I remember Christmas of 58 and then his 40th birthday on New Year’s of 59 at my grandmother’s house. Interesting how paths and stories cross.

Back in September when 10 acres of the farm burned due to the drought, my husband and I went to view the damage and then again a month later. After a month we were amazed by the green that had grown back. I was walking with my camera snapping pictures of the green and I fell into a hole in the uneven ground and broke the lens on my camera. I only recently replaced that camera as the cost of fixing was as much if not more than a new one. The new one, a Canon, is amazing and I guess the roses are just as much about Valentine roses as me wanting to try out this new Canon. According to my husband this new lesser model Canon shoots more pixels than his higher class camera with assorted lenses. There are deals out there.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Georgette – even if it’s a little late for it now. And congratulations with the awards. No doubt in my mind that you deserve them all. Thanks for mentioning me as well. Quite a family we are, no? The roses I so beautiful they almost jump right out of the frame.

I’m a snap it and load it onto the website amateur. Thank you, Munchow for visiting and liking the roses. I’m sure you have the “know how” to frame them and perhaps make them a bit more subtle as is the header. But still I’m impressed how much the camera did do. I agree, I do enjoy our community and I thank you again for the award you passed on to me that I could share with others. The timing of the award was perfect for Valentine’s I thought.

Georgette, I feel that I need to look for the principal’s office and grab a late slip. Oops…maybe your ARE the principal! 😀

I just discovered your heart-melting note and award offering. Thank you for this – it means a great deal coming from you. I have appreciated all that you have shared about your interesting journey through life – including the wooden, homemade ironing board. I swear we had a twin. It was so heavy that it nearly killed me to carry. Plus I actually remember having to iron with those irons that we heated on the top of the stove. We’d clip the handles onto the hot iron and hope to not burn the item that needed a press.

Your remembering that ironing board confirms how special you are in our blogging family. You had one too? Thank you for sharing. Please let me be the teacher, not the principal, so I can give you an admit to my virtual class. And in my virtual class, it would be fun to share with you something else about ironing that my aunt taught me. She explained we should iron clothes from the inside out so that there would be no danger of scorching (remember that word?…who uses it any more in regards to ironing?) or wearing out on the outside so the garment would not leave a worn sheen of endless ironing. Clothes do look better ironed from the inside out with a few touch ups on the outside. No I don’t want to “scorch” any visitors with a “hrumph” from me, and I can’t imagine your visits in your timing wearing me thin. 🙂

If you and souldipper have all those ironing memories, then surely you remember one of my favorite chores – sprinkling the clothes and rolling them up to await ironing. We used a “pop bottle” (soda bottle to some) with a red and white plastic top. And of course, if you didn’t finish the ironing, you always could put the dampened clothes in the refrigerator until the next day.

But I digress. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to receive mention here. The little irony I’ve been thinking about is this – often I write about what I don’t know, but I learn in the process. It’s one reason I post only once a week, give or take. The writing doesn’t take so much time, but the research can take hours. Since I love learning and love sharing, it works out rather well.

In any event, I was so pleased to see you use the word “genuine” in regard to my writing. From the beginning, I’ve tried very hard to be as honest as possible in my blog – that is, letting my convictions and beliefs – and personality – inform my writing.

My most influential professor, the one I mentioned here in an earlier comment, used to say to us, “Your words are elegant! Your words are beautifully shaped, and compelling. But are they TRUE?” The lesson held, especially since the question usually was asked from a distance of about twelve inches, in a booming, theatrical voice!

I remember the coke bottle. In Boy Scouts my brother made for my mother such a bottle. It was a coke bottle painted green with a plastic top. Yes, we sprinkled with it before spray bottles and yes, we put some damp items in the fridge “for later.” haha…such memories…I’ll have to ask my mother about that coke bottle. You are way ahead of me in writing development. I am most impressed about the research you bring…perhaps I have been lazy about that. You (and souldipper) are certainly mentors in noting I need to bring more research to the screen.
Interesting you add still more information about your professor who asked his question “from a distance of about twelve inches, in a booming, theatrical voice!” I had such a Spanish professor. Perhaps I was a glutton for punishment in that I followed him for four courses!! How much I wanted to tell him at a class reunion all I had accomplished in our chosen field, but I won’t get into here, only to find out he had recently passed away. Well, friend, in your company I am honored to press on and hope I am up to “the task at hand”.

I remember those, too! Before we found the perfect little top that corked the bottle full of water, we had to use our fingers and flip the water on the clothes. But I can still smell that wonderful scent of damp, clean clothes.

Not only do I love to visit your “little blog” you nudge me with your comments and questions. I truly enjoy the conversation. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I’m glad you liked the roses “dearrosie”.
(Now I do need to learn to put a frame around pictures like these so they don’t jump out so to speak.)